Revit Managing Views

View Range
The View Range of a plan is a set of horizontal planes. The
position of these planes is just one of several settings that
controls if elements are visible in the view. The planes also
define if elements in the view range are cut, projected, or
shown as beyond in the view range.

Open the View Range dialog from the Properties Palette.

The View Range dialog has 2 parts, the primary range and the
view depth. The values set in the dialog define relative
positions of the horizontal planes that make up the view
range. Because the view range is made up of horizontal planes
parallel to the level of the view, it is easier to understand them by looking at a section view.

Parts of view range

1. view: Top

2. Cut plane

3. Bottom

4. Offset (from bottom)

5. Primary Range

6. View Depth

7. view range
Floor Plan View and Ceiling Plan View

Floor Plan view

In a Floor Plan view, the key parameters are Cut plane and Bottom. Set a level and a height
offset for each of these parameters. Everything cut by the pink line (like in the image below)
will display in thick lines. Everything between the cut plane and the bottom will display in light
lines.

In almost all cases, you should make sure the View Depth value is the same as Bottom.

Ceiling Plan views

Ceiling Plans are similar to floor plan, except you have to set the Top value instead of Bottom.
Make sure the View Depth value is the same as Top.
Underlay Setting
An underlay is helpful when you need to understand the relationship of components at
different levels for coordination and construction. For example, you may want to use an
underlay to make it easier to place light fixtures above furniture in an architectural model

When you set an underlay, Revit displays another level of the model at the view's cut plane
under the current plan view. The underlay can be viewed from above or below the current
level. The underlay appears in halftone and is visible in a hidden line view.

When you create a new plan view, the Range: Base Level is set to None.

1. In the Project Browser, open a plan view.

2. On the Properties palette, for Range: Base Level, select the level you want to
underlay.
Range: Top Level is automatically set to one level above the Base Level. When there
is an intermediate level, such as a stage, you may want to set Range: Top Level to the
level above the stage.

The underlay displays in halftone in the plan view.

3. On the Properties palette, for Underlay Orientation, select Look Up or Look Down.
When Underlay Orientation is set to Look down, the underlay displays as if you are
viewing it from above, like a plan view. When the Underlay Orientation is set to Look
up, then the underlay displays as if you are viewing it from below, like a reflected
ceiling plan.
The following illustration represents the settings in the Properties palette where.

1 = Range: Base Level,

2 = Range: Top Level,

3 = Look Up,

4 = Look Down
Plan Region
To define multiple cut planes within a plan view, use plan regions.

A plan region defines a cut plane at a different height than the cut plane that is used for the rest
of the view. Plan regions are useful for split level plans or for displaying inserts above or below
the cut plane. Plan regions are closed sketches and cannot overlap each other. They can have
coincident edges.

Note: Plan regions are used to control the appearance of hosts and hosted elements, primarily
windows and doors in walls, when their elevation affects whether they are visible. Plan regions
cannot be used to control the display of MEP elements.

Example

The cut plane for a plan region in an elevation

Plan region in a floor plan

Plan regions are view-specific. You can copy and paste them into the same view or different
views. When you copy a plan region into a different view, the view range settings are
maintained from the previous view.
View Control Bar

The View Control Bar provides quick access to functions that affect the current view.

The View Control Bar is located at the bottom of the view window above the status bar and
includes the following tools:

Note: The exact tools available on the View Control Bar depends on the view type.

1. Scale
2. Detail Level
3. Visual Style
4. Sun Path On/Off
5. Shadows On/Off
6. Show/Hide Rendering Dialog (Available only when the drawing area displays a 3D
view.)
7. Crop View
8. Show/Hide Crop Region
9. Unlocked/Locked 3D View
10. Temporary Hide/Isolate
11. Reveal Hidden Elements
12. Temporary View Properties
13. Show or Hide the Analytical Model (for MEP and structural analysis only)
14. Highlight Displacement Sets
15. Reveal Constraints

Note: Some controls may be disabled when corresponding view properties are defined in a
view template. To change those view properties, modify the view template properties.
scale
The view scale is the proportional system used to represent objects in a drawing.

You can assign a different scale to each view in a project. You can also create custom view
scales.

To assign a view scale

Use one of the following methods:

• In the Project Browser, right-click the view, and click Properties. On the Properties
palette, for View Scale, select a value.
• Select a scale from the View Control Bar.

To create a custom view scale

1. On the View Control Bar, click the view scale, and select Custom.
2. In the Custom Scale dialog, enter a value for Ratio.
3. (Optional) Select Display Name, and enter a custom name for the scale.
4. Click OK.
Detail Level

You can set the detail level for newly created views based on a view scale.

View scales are organized under the detail level headings Course, Medium, or Fine. When you
create a new view in your project and set its view scale, its detail level is automatically set
according to the arrangement in the table.

By predefining detail levels, you can affect the display of the same geometry at different view
scales.

You can override the detail level at any time by setting the Detail Level parameter in the view
properties.

Example
A custom door created in the Family Editor can display differently at coarse, medium, and fine
detail levels.
Visual styles
You can specify many different graphic styles for a project view. Visual styles are grouped into
model display, shadows, lighting, realistic, and background options.

1. Wireframe

The Wireframe style displays the image of the model with all edges and lines drawn, but
with no surfaces drawn.

This tool affects the current view only.

Note: When a view displays the wireframe visual style, you can apply materials to
selected element types. Those materials do not display in the wireframe view; however,
surface patterns still display. Also, you cannot place material keynotes in a wireframe
view.
Hidden Line style
Hidden Line style displays the image with all edges and lines drawn except those obstructed by surfaces.

This style affects the current view only.

Shaded style
The Shaded style displays the image in shaded mode, and has the option of displaying indirect
light and their shadows.

The Shaded style displays the image in shaded mode, and has the option of displaying indirect
light and their shadows. Select Show Ambient Shadows from the Graphic Display Options
dialog to simulate the blocking of ambient (diffused) light. A default light source provides
illumination for the shaded elements. The number of colors that can display for shading
depend on the number of colors you have configured to display in Windows.

This setting affects the current view only. Example:

Consistent Colors

The Consistent Colors style displays the image with all surfaces shaded according to their
material color settings.

This style maintains a consistent shading color so that a material is always displayed in the
same color no matter how it is oriented to the light source.

Realistic style

The Realistic style displays material appearances and artificial lighting.

As you rotate the model, the surfaces display as they may appear in various lighting conditions.
Select Show Ambient Shadows from the Graphic Display Options dialog to simulate a soft,
diffused light.
You can create a real-time rendering to display a model using the Realistic visual style, or you
can render the model to create a photorealistic image. The following images illustrate these
rendering types:

Realistic (uses the Realistic visual style) Photorealistic (a rendered image)

The Realistic visual style instantly displays realistic material appearances in the model view.
With the shadow and depth settings applied, you can rotate the model to display its surfaces as
they would appear in different lighting situations.
sun path and shadows on

You control the visibility of the sun path and shadows on a view-by-view basis. When you turn
the sun path or shadows on or off in one view, no other views are affected.
3D views have more shadow-casting elements than 2D views, so they yield far more
information about natural lighting, shading requirements, passive solar design potential, and
renewable energy potential.

For the best results when studying the effect of light and shadows on a building and site, turn
on both the sun path and shadow display in a 3D view.

To turn on the sun path

Use one of these methods:

• On the View Control Bar, click Sun Path Off/On Sun Path On.

To turn on shadows
Use one of these methods:

• On the View Control Bar, click Shadows Off/On Shadows On.

• On the View Control Bar, click Visual Style Graphic Display Options. In the
Graphic Display Options dialog, under Shadows, select Cast Shadows, and click OK.

To adjust the intensity of sun, indirect light, or shadows

1. On the View Control Bar, click Visual Style Graphic Display Options.
2. In the Graphic Display Options dialog, under Lighting, move the Sun slider or enter a
value between 0 and 100 to change the brightness of the direct light.
3. For Ambient Light, move the slider or enter a value between 0 and 100 to change the
brightness of the ambient light.
4. Under Shadows, move the Shadow slider or enter a value between 0 and 100 to
change the darkness of the shadows.
5. Click OK.
Rendering Dialog

Before rendering a 3D view, define settings that control lighting, exposure, resolution,
background, and image quality. If desired, render the view using the default settings, which are
designed to be intelligent and produce satisfactory results in many cases.

crop region

The crop region defines the boundaries for a project view.

The crop region of a view controls what elements are visible in a view. Model elements or parts
of a model element outside of the crop region of a view will not display. When the annotation
crop of a view is enabled, annotation elements must fall inside the annotation crop of the view
to be visible.

show or hide crop regions

You can show or hide crop regions as needed.

Use one of the following methods:

• On the View Control Bar, click (Show Crop Region or Hide Crop Region).
• In the Properties palette for the view, select or clear the Crop Region Visible setting.
To show or hide the annotation crop

1. After you show crop regions, if the annotation crop region is hidden, click in the
drawing area, to be sure nothing is selected.
2. On the Properties palette, select (or clear) the check box for Annotation Crop.
In the drawing area, select the crop region, and both annotation and model crops display. The
interior crop is the model crop, and the exterior crop is the annotation crop.
Lock 3D view
lock the orientation of a 3D view in order to tag elements and add keynotes in the view.

Tags and keynotes can only be placed in a 3D view that has been locked . A tool on the View
Control Bar controls the locking of 3D views. There are 3 options when locking/unlocking a 3D
view:

• Save Orientation and Lock View

Locks the view at the current orientation. You cannot orbit the model in this mode.

• Restore Orientation and Lock View

Restores an unlocked, reoriented view to its previously locked orientation. Any tags
and keynotes placed at the original orientation will display.

• Unlock View
Unlocks the current orientation, allowing you to navigate and orbit the 3D view. Any
tags or keynotes placed in the view do not display until you click the Restore
Orientation and Lock View command.

Note: By default, the leader for tags in a 3D view is set to Free End on the Options Bar. This
setting is preferred for elements that may require adjustments to 3D tags, such as walls.

Temporarily hiding or isolating elements

Temporarily hiding or isolating elements or element categories may be useful when you want
to see or edit only a few elements of a certain category in a view.

The Hide tool hides the selected elements in the view, and the Isolate tool shows the selected
elements and hides all other elements in the view. The tool affects only the active view in the
drawing area.

Element visibility reverts back to its original state when you close the project, unless you make
the changes permanent. Temporary Hide (HH) /Isolate (HR) also does not affect printing.

To temporarily hide or isolate elements or element categories

1. In the drawing area, select one or more elements.

2. On the View Control Bar, click (Temporary Hide/Isolate) and then select one of
the following:
o Isolate Category.
For example, if you select some walls and doors, only walls and doors will
remain visible in the view.

o Hide Category. Hides all selected categories in the view.

 For example, if you select some walls and doors, all walls and doors will be
hidden in the view.

o Isolate Element. Isolates only the selected elements.

o Hide Element. Hides only the selected elements.
When you temporarily hide an element or element category, the Temporary
Hide/Isolate icon displays with a border ( ).

To exit temporary hide/isolate mode without saving changes

• On the View Control Bar, click , and then click Reset Temporary Hide/Isolate.
All temporarily hidden elements are restored to the view.

To exit temporary hide/isolate mode and make changes permanent

• On the View Control Bar, click , and then click Apply Hide/Isolate to View.
If you make temporarily hidden elements permanent, you can reveal them at a later time, and
unhide them if necessary.

hidden elements or unhide

Take a temporary look at hidden elements or unhide them.

1. On the View Control Bar, click (Reveal Hidden Elements).

The Reveal Hidden Elements icon and the drawing area display a color border to
indicate that you are in Reveal Hidden Element mode. All hidden elements display in
color, and visible elements display in half-tone.

To unhide hidden elements

1. Select the element.

2. Do one of the following:
o Click Modify | <Element> tab Reveal Hidden Elements panel (Unhide
Element) or (Unhide Category).
o Right-click the element, and click Unhide in View Elements or Category.
Note: The Unhide Element and Unhide Category options become active when you
select an element that was hidden by element or, a category that was hidden by
category.
analytical model

You can display the analytical model in any view.

1. Click (Show Analytical Model) on the View Control Bar. It displays the analytical
model settings as specified in the Visibility/Graphics Override dialog.

2. To hide it, click (Hide Analytical Model) on the View Control Bar.

Displaced views

Displaced views can be used to illustrate the relationship that model elements have to the
model as a whole.

Displaced views are similar to exploded views, but provide flexibility by allowing the
displacement of selected elements or all elements. This tool is available in a 3D or perspective
model, when you select one or more model elements.